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- I received a call Sunday morning from my long time friend, Betty Dickson. Betty and Tom Dickson owned the Magee Courier for years! While in Magee, Betty and Tom had many friends. Betty asked me to send the story which is below to Jean, Ted’s wife. When I saw what Betty had written, I knew I had to share with everyone. Jean came by my house and brought the story with a few revisions. Jean is heartbroken. She and her family are pushing forward. The obituary with arrangements should be available tomorrow. Enjoy what Betty wrote!
Our friend Ted Allen left this earth yesterday and today is in heaven searching for every available eating place and sharing with all he knows.
Our families took trips together, the most fun being Ridgecrest in North Carolina. We all worked as hard as possible to provide fun and leadership to our kids. Ted was undoubtedly the best example of a fine Christian gentleman with an amazing sense of humor.
We played together, ate together, sang together and practiced our Christian faith as best possible.
One of Ted’s favorite pastimes was during football season, holding the other end of a yard marker and moving the chains after every down. He was devoted to sports and events that featured our kids. We were followers of band members, cheerleader squads, football, baseball, basketball – wherever our kids were, we were too.
We often cranked up the van on Friday nights and chased to games away from home. Once on a trip to either Hazlehurst or Crystal Springs, we made a pit stop on Highway 28. Everyone piled out of the van (it was always full) and retrieved snacks and did stops at the potty. Getting back into the van took a few moments and somewhere about 10 miles down the road, one of the kids in the far back shouted, “I think we left Ted Pruitt and Lee Easterwood back there.” Turning around and 15 minutes later, they were running up the highway looking for us. They climbed aboard and said, “We weren’t worried. We knew you would be back.”
Another time at one of our eating gatherings, Ted picked up our little Lynn, and she was always so tiny, placed her on his knee. Looking up at Ted and using a line from a popular TV show, she said, “Don’t touch me. You don’t know me that well.” Ted told that story over and over again. On one of the last visits with him, he reminisced about the Lynn story, one he told with gusto. Ted loved all our kids. And they loved him.
He was known as the purveyor of good places to eat. Once a new place opened down near Collins and Ted sent the word around. Not long after, we drove down for lunch and there he was. He also knew where every Cracker Barrel or Outback Steakhouse was on any given highway. We could always count on Ted.
His wife Jean once told me that she would place an onion in the oven and turn it on. When Ted came in the back door and smelled the cooking onion, he thought dinner was not far behind. She had a pretty good sense of humor too.
Once on a visit to Magee, I stopped by the builder’s supply store to see Ted. He told me that he had recently called Rev. Ladnier who had been our pastor at Magee First Baptist for many years. Ted told me that he had recently called the pastor who had retired in Vicksburg and the conversation was so meaningful. Ted encouraged me to call sometimes because he thought our calls meant so much. Back home I called Bro. Ladnier and we had a wonderful discussion. I recognized how much he had meant to all of us. So glad Ted provided me with that opportunity for I probably would have never even thought about it.
So now we start life over without Ted. But gosh, we do have the memories. My first thought this morning was “darn that Ted. He is only one amongst us who beat the coronavirus.”
Thank you Betty for such a well written and delightful story.
